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Artoria Sunsorrow
"''Exile is but a joy, dear Daveth. The noble houses of old Quel'Thalas sit upon bloody ruins and scarred soil of conquests after conquests, civil wars after civil wars. Rich in grapes, game, and gold, but impoverished in generosity, we waste away, lavishly decadent and wildly privileged. We bicker and fight over things and names, and yet, we find no peace in rebuilding a kingdom that was fraught from the start. So no, exile is not a punishment: my family name is but a festering wound that I must purge with fire." - ''Artoria speaking to her Forsaken amanuensis, Daveth Brighton Artoria Sunsorrow is a former champion of the Blood Knight Order and an exiled member of House Sunsorrow. She is a professor of antiquities and archaeology in the Explorer's League, and currently a political and military strategist for the Knights of the Silver Hand. When Artoria is not working to fight against the powers that threaten Azeroth, she seeks a grander crusade against social oppression and violence. By making alliances with other wayward paladins, she has sought to organize disparate resistance and liberation movements across many kingdoms to undermine corrupt despots, tyrants, and kingdoms. Guided by the Light, she is duty-bound in aiding those affected by numerous conflicts across Azeroth. History Early Life Artoria was born into the esteemed House Sunsorrow by Malyn Sunsorrow and his wife Leorna Dawnseeker on the winter solstice, Anth'belore, sixty years prior to the opening of the Dark Portal. Artoria was born into a violent, chaotic, and dangerous noble house. Her father, Malyn, a nephew of Solorin Sunsorrow, was reviled and distrusted by many of the nobles within House Sunsorrow, for he was a bastard conceived from the wife of a mithril miner named Tefel Greystone. Originally Malyn Greystone, he was legitimized by Solorin's father, Telo'Varin Sunsorrow, after his pyrrhic defense of Sunsorrow Bay from raiding marauders. He was further rewarded land and titles after he successfully raided Amani supply routes just over the border, preventing an attack on the Southern Gate. With his new found wealth, Malyn provided food and shelter to poor refugees from Amani raids, and offered military training to the civilians with the help of his son, Torynn. However, even with all of his service to the court of Felo'Danil, many members of the House grew jealous of his quick rise to prominence. Fearing his charisma, brilliance, idealism, and humility, his cousins and other kin sought to eliminate him before he rose beyond 'his birthright and low-born rank' within a court desperate for economic and political reform. Malyn confirmed their fears by becoming the most powerful advisor to the Patriarch of House Sunsorrow, arguing for lower taxes on the poor, a broader immigration policy for all races, reformed inheritance laws, and a ceasefire with bordering Amani chiefs and shamans. Malyn sought equality among all, fair distribution of lands and wealth, and a more cosmopolitan, international approach to governance. Malyn's political revolution did not last long. Nine years after his ascension, Malyn was murdered by two assassins disguised as farmers just outside of Sunsorrow Vineyards, where he often walked in the early dawn alone. In haste, Malyn's wife Leorna sent Artoria and her older brother, Raenir, to Farstrider Enclave, south of Felo'Danil, where she had distant relatives like Raelys Dawnseeker. Artoria and Toryn remained with the Farstriders until they received word that their mother, who sought vengeance with her bow named ''Venomsbite, ''was caught by guards in her attempt to kill the Sunsorrow conspirators. She was sentenced to death without trial, and Artoria and Toryn were officially exiled from Felo'Danil. Toryn, furious at the loss of his birth-right and his parents' murder, sought allies in an armed rebellion against his former house, and enlisted 50,000 armed peasants and a handful of lords to the gates of Felo'Danil. Within hours, their forces were routed. Toryn was captured, and in brutal barbarity rivaling the Amani, he was publicly tortured and executed in the square of Lin'Doras. Days later Artoria entered Lin'Doras under the cover of night to recover her brother's remains. All she found was his Farstrider broach and her father's mithril ring. Artoria fled Felo'Danil, vowing to return with divine retribution and bloody vengeance. The First War Artoria, having escaped her homeland south through Lorderon, came across a human cleric by the name of Jonas Brighton of Caer Darrow. In her travels, she lived as her father did: helping the poor and weak. Exhausted from a long journey, Artoria found an inn near Darrowmere Lake and met a Jonas Brighton and his teenager son, Daveth. Both had just returned from a harrowing adventure from Stormwind City; on their way through Redridge Mountains, they encountered a monstrous group of orcs, the likes of which they had never seen. Having fled to safety all the way from that long travail, they recounted the tale to Artoria. She accompanied Jonas and Daveth on their journeys throughout Lorderon and further south, encountering not only orcish skirmishes, but the outcome of the First War, witnessing the horrors of rape, plunder, starvation, disease, and displacement first hand. Artoria learned the arts of healing, or what Jonas called, the Light, in this trying time. The Second War After braving the fallout of the First War in the hinterlands of Stormwind, Artoria, Jonas, and Daveth returned to Lorderon to witness the keep of Caer Darrow sacked by another Horde assault. It is here the three sought to help the keep and the civilians recover. There were rumors that Uther Lightbringer, a founder of the Order of the Silver Hand, was also on his way to help the region. Artoria hoped to meet Uther, but he never arrived to her dismay. Reports told of an orcish assault on Lorderon, Eversong, and Silvermoon. Artoria did not bat an eye when Daveth told her the news. Soon after the victory of Lorderon and the counter-offensive of the new Alliance, Jonas died of an unknown illness that he suddenly contracted while working on Caer Darrow. Unable to convalesce the old priest, she and Daveth buried him in Sorrow Hill outside of Andorhal, leaving the mysterious Caer Darrow out of their sights. Artoria noted that the longer Daveth stayed on the island, the more he began whispering and mumbling in tongues she had never known. She had known of other priests in Silvermoon who took to an interest in the darker forms of the priestly nature. Daveth followed Artoria on her journeys across Lorderon to aid those in need, finally coming into the service of Tirion Fordring at Hearthglen. The Third War The Fall of Andorhal Artoria and Daveth were both medics for Hearthglen when the Scourge ran rampant across Lorderon. Daveth was sent to Andorhal in a defense of the city, but was slain in combat by a group of ghouls. Artoria was tasked to defend the Western entry point of the region (known now as the Bulwark), and heard tell of the death of Daveth days later. Artoria defied her orders and dispatched to Andorhal to find the body of Daveth. Fighting her way viciously through the heaps of undead forces, Artoria and a few other paladins broke through the northern distict of Andorhal, where she found Daveth wandering around as an undead shambler. Overcome by rage and sorrow, she turned away from Andorhal and sought vengeance, hearing of strange cultists from beneath the cloistered Caer Darrow. On her way to Caer Darrow, she was ambushed by heaps of undead forces, and barely escaped, fleeing north. The Defense of Quel'Thalas Artoria did not stop riding until she reached Quel'Lithian Lodge, on the borders of Lorderon and Quel'Thalas. She eventually arrived back in her homeland under disguise, riding to Silvermoon City. She was enlisted by the Blood Knights Order to defend the city from the invasion, and fought valiantly in the failed defense of the city. Her and many others escaped to the most northern reaches of the Isle of Quel'Thalas, preparing for a counter strike. Artoria hid her namesake, calling herself 'Lyonetta Dawnseeker,' later to be remembered by her famous cousin, Lynessa Sunsorrow, as a homage to her maternal lineage. In the Third War, Artoria trained and fought with the Blood Knights of Silvermoon, and channelled her fury, loss, and sorrow into her blade. She, for a time, abandoned the Light, and sought more and more power. Eventually, she would become addicted to the powers of the Sunwell, and even protect the well as one of her objectives during the war. She would be later called on by mercenary companies to fight against the forces of Hakkar in Zul'Gurub, Ragnaros in Molten Core, and Nefarian in Blackwing Lair, but she instead sent recommendations for a gnome mage she once met in her travels called Knight-Captain Costanza of Bael Modan, who taught her the intricacies of engineering. The New Horde and the Burning Crusade Artoria rose to the rank of Champion in the Blood Knight Order by the time her and her people were admitted into The New Horde and the battle against the Legion began. She was not content with the Sin'dorei alliance with the Horde: she was distrustful not of the differing ethnic kingdoms, but rather, the leadership of Kael'thas Sunstrider. She knew many friends and travel companions now enlisted in the Alliance of King Varian Wrynn, and she harbored them no ill will. In this moment of political contention, she sought out her friends throughout the Alliance. In Silvermoon, however, she kept the Quel'dorei identity of Lyonetta Dawnseeker. Soon enough, Artoria and her forces were sent to the Dark Portal to subdue Illidan Stormrage and his legion and naga armies. In her initial adventures into Outland, she met a tauren warrior by the name of Tarex Brownhills, whom she befriended and fought alongside throughout her expedition. Throughout the crusade, Artoria and Tarex found a mercenary troupe that led them into the great citadels of fel corruption. Both her and Tarex became mercenary generals, and soon led successful raids on Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep, and the Black Temple itself. In this company, she befriended a troll hunter named Rho'han and a Forsaken warlock named Jerald 'Nymoxesis' Nymon, who fought valiantly with her and Tarex for many months, especially in the defenses of Horde military operations. Sadly, however, these joyous adventures would end. In the Black Temple, however, Tarex was slain in their battle against Illidan, and again, Artoria lost a close friend. In the solitude of the Scryers of Shadowmoon Valley, in a small tent in the Sanctum of the Stars, Artoria wept and wailed for hours. While she was inconsolable, Rho'han of Shadowprey Village and Jerald Nymon decided to join her on her way back through the Dark Portal, and to Mulgore, to bury their friend Tarex. The Hammer of An'she Upon the capture of Iliidan, Artoria and her retinue returned the body of Tarex to the Brownhills of Mulgore, singing the praises of his strength and valor. In her final months fighting with her company, she was present at the Battle of Zul'Aman with Rho'han and fought for the Shattered Sun Offensive on the Isle of Quel'Thalas with Jerald, but she did not stay long. She heard about the fall of Lin'Doras during the Scourge Invasion, but did not seek out her ancestral homeland. She feared upon being discovered, that she too would die like her family before her. Thus, she broke from the Blood Knight Order after refusing to join the forces to reclaim the Sunwell from Kiljaeden. In haste, she left the Eastern Kingdom all together, returning to Thunder Bluff to tend to the tauren. She spent the rest of her time residing in the Spirit Rise, where she was weened off of her mana addiction by tauren seers and shamans, learning more about their spiritual beliefs in what she new as "the Light" or the power of the Sunwell. Her connection to the Light grew stronger, and by fate or chance, she met Daveth Brighton again, this time, as a stately Forsaken shadow priest. She found his cantankerous personality and stark nihilism refreshing in such a peaceful, tranquil place such as Thunder Bluff, and the two recounted each other of their adventures after the Scourge Invasion. Together, the two of them studied the worship of An'she and Daveth's experiences with the Void, and they wrote treatises on indigenous tauren worship and its value for the New Horde. With other new friends, they traveled Kalimdor to reclaim the lands and rights of those dispossessed of their lands during the wars for Azeroth, and overtime, Artoria was soon known by the tauren as 'The Hammer of An'she.' The Northrend Expedition Called to arms by her Horde allies - Rho'han, Jerald, and Daveth - Artoria returned to fight against Arthas and his Scourge Horde in the frozen isle of Northrend as a sellsword hired by her Sin'dorei mercenary troupe, 'The Blood Hawks' to push back the troll forces in Zul'Drak, and later, as a field medic during the Wrathgate Incident in Icecrown. Not much else is known of her early time in Northrend; still pained by the loss of her friend Tarex, she did not find purpose in her rage against Arthas and his murderous Scourge that obliterated her homeland. Much of her time on Northrend was marked by long weeks of defending archeological digs by The Explorer's League, and became intrigued in the world histories of Azeroth. The Argent Tournament and Haine Echovale During the Argent Tournament, Artoria joined in the fights with her mercenary troupe, and there, she met a scrappy night elf druid by the name of Haine Echovale. The two of them met in fierce combat in the Trial of Crusader, but after a heated duel, the two became close friends throughout the tournament, and would later (according to Daveth's account) become lovers. From Daveth's journal during the tournament, he writes: 'Horde and Alliance be damned, Artoria and that Kaldorei druid, Haine Echovale, did not care for the political divisions incited by the stupidity of old rivalries and sore wounds. Both women seemed to find comradery and solace in the differences and similarities of their respective elven societies.' Furthermore, Artoria learned much in the arts of healing from Haine Echovale during their time in Northrend. Haine would later become an integral part of the assault on Icecrown Citadel, while Artoria remained in the ranks of The Blood Hawks as a guard at the tournament grounds. After the Fall of Arthas Artoria did not witness the fall of Arthas, but she heard many tales from Haine. While Artoria's companions were suspicious of her new partner, they found some sort of joy in witnessing their friend finally smile after years of tears. At the end of the campaign, Artoria returned to Kalimdor, and while remaining in Thunder Bluff, she became a defacto advisor to Haine's own fellowship of misfit heroes, which including the strategic-mastermind of a draenei shaman (Ke'vii), a kind-hearted draenei paladin (Du'keu), and their night elf companions, a kooky young druid (Chy Dawnyell) and a sly hunter (Dhea Piercewing). Artoria's Alliance-leanings would cause troubles for her in the future when faction tensions would rise, but during this time, she felt more like her Quel'dorei ancestors than her Sin'dorei compatriots. The Cataclysm and the Return of Deathwing Category:Characters Category:Blood Elf Category:Blood Knights Category:House of Sunsorrow